City council approved a $3.9 million local contribution to the 2015 school budget on Tuesday. But that amount might change, with education funding bills still unfinished in the legislature.

The $3.9 million figure includes about $2.8 million for the city’s maximum allowable contribution to the schools, plus just over $1 million on top of the local funding cap. It’s the amount the district asked for -- about 4 percent less than last year’s contribution.

In Juneau, the legislature hasn’t gaveled out yet, and conflicting proposals make it anyone’s guess as to how education funding will change next year. If lawmakers vote to increase the required local contribution to the schools, the city’s funding cap will go up $85,000. Council would have to pass a separate budget amendment if they still wanted to fund the schools as much as possible.

Councilors also got an overview of proposed changes to the city’s zoning code at Tuesday's meeting. The planning department has finalized most of the revisions to Title 8, including new rules for construction camps.

Planning staff is still working on revising its definition of lease lots. The proposed changes create clearer rules and requirements for subdividing properties and leasing them out for development.

Councilor Dennis Robinson was concerned it would make things too complicated for land-owners who want to allow development on their property.

"When you plat and subdivide, that means you have to put in sewer, water, electricity and all that happy stuff," he says. "I can see this as a hindrance to development. It will hinder development in the short term."

But planning director Erin Reinders says the proposed changes align the city’s code with the state’s -- clarifying existing laws, rather than creating new ones. She says it’s important to regulate leased developments like any other property.

"Development is development – if it’s happening, we need to be planning for those utilities, and we need to be taking a look at that and making sure we’re doing it in the most cost-effective way possible for the whole community," she says. "We also need to make sure that these lots have right-of-way access, are able to connect to utilities and have minimum design standards. Those need to be maintained for lease lots just as they would be for lots that are for sale."

But the planning department still needs to fine-tune the new definitions. Reinders says the whole package will be back before council next month.

Council did approve a zoning change for a lot on Haystack Hill. The lot, located above the clinic and owned by Travis Swangel, will now be allowed to have four residential units, rather than two.

On the public works side, council approved a $959,000 contract with Puffin Electric to update the lighting system at the city’s ports. The bid is much lower than the city engineer’s $1.4 million estimate for the project. The only other bid the city received was for $1.6 million.

Council also voted to add $1.2 million to the budget for the powerhouse project. That’s for the installation of a waste-heat recovery system, which city manager Chris Hladick says should pay for itself in five to seven years.

And for the second time this month, council was asked to grant a waiver to a senior citizen who missed the March 1 deadline for a property tax exemption. People 65 and older can apply for a $150,000 exemption on a permanent residence that they own.

At their last meeting, council granted a late-application waiver to Rita Hawley.

This time, the resident asking for the waiver was Vincent Tutiakoff. City clerk Elizabeth Masoni explained that the exemption came up in a separate conversation with Tutiakoff’s wife, after the deadline. The couple didn’t know about the exemption, and Masoni hadn’t realized Tutiakoff was of eligible age.

Council approved Tutiakoff’s waiver. But they did agree that city staff should do more to inform eligible residents about the exemption next year. Masoni estimates there are about a dozen people in town who qualify.